Japan, Tokyo, Chiyoda district—this is the political, administrative, and judicial center of the country. It is also home to the headquarters of the Japan Go Association.
At this late hour, inside a single-family house:
"I'm back!"
With the sound of the door opening, Felix, a ninth-dan Go player, entered the house, taking off his shoes as he walked in.
"Welcome home~"
A young boy lay lazily on the couch, a comic book in front of him, and a bag of chips beside him. Without even looking up, he greeted Felix casually.
"How was your Go practice today?" Felix asked as he looked at the boy.
"Eh, same as always," the boy replied nonchalantly, turning a page of his comic.
This response made Felix frown, and he sighed deeply.
His son had always been a source of frustration. As a ninth-dan Go professional, Felix wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and learn how to play Go. But unfortunately, his son had zero interest in the game. He would often say things like, "Not many people play Go anymore. In a few years, this whole industry might disappear."
Felix knew that forcing him to learn would be pointless, and making him spend large amounts of time studying Go could negatively affect his school performance.
But if even his own child, the son of a professional Go player, showed no interest in the game, what hope was there for families with no background in Go?
His mind wandered back to the meeting earlier that day, when the chairman had tasked him with finding a manga artist to create a Go-themed comic. The more he thought about it, the more stressed he felt.
Felix had grown up reading manga, and even now, when he wasn't studying Go strategies, he spent his spare time reading comics. He knew the manga industry well. Sports-related comics were already rare, and most focused on basketball or soccer. Chess-related ones, especially Go, were even rarer.
Although the Go Association was willing to provide a significant budget for the artist, they insisted that the comic must be professional and avoid pandering to fan service elements, which were common in many modern sports manga.
"Ugh..."
The more Felix thought about it, the more his head hurt. He sat down on the couch, rubbing his temples.
Hearing his father sigh, the boy, New Eight, turned his head toward him. "Sighing again? Looks like the Go Association had another meeting, huh? Figuring out how to save Go in Japan?"
His father had sighed like this many times before, so New Eight was used to it. He knew that most of the time, his father's worries stemmed from issues within the Go Association.
"Yeah," Felix nodded lightly. "But I did suggest a good idea this time!"
Felix's tone carried a bit of pride. After all, what father wouldn't want to impress his child? Even though his son was already in middle school, Felix still felt the need to show off occasionally.
"Oh? What's your great idea?"
New Eight humored his father with a question.
"Manga! Using manga to attract young people to Go!"
"Manga?!"
Upon hearing something he was actually interested in, New Eight, who had been lying lazily on the couch, suddenly sat up straight. "Go manga?"
"Yeah," Felix nodded, but then his face twisted with concern again. "The problem is, I don't know who to ask to draw it. The Association has some pretty strict requirements."
Felix then explained the Go Association's conditions for the manga.
"..." After hearing his father's description, New Eight also fell silent. He understood how difficult it would be to create a successful Go manga.
Even in the sports manga genre, most of the classics were from ten or more years ago. Modern sports comics often included fan service elements to attract readers, like featuring cute girls playing soccer. But making a Go manga without these elements, as his father described, would be incredibly tough.
For a while, father and son both sat in silence.
"Well, I guess I'll start by contacting some of the more well-known sports manga artists," Felix finally said, standing up to make a phone call from the balcony.
New Eight shrugged and returned to his comic. In the quiet of the night, the pages of the manga turned, accompanied only by the soft murmur of his father's phone conversation outside.
Under the moonlit sky, a gentle breeze stirred the still air, and the sound of a flowing river seemed to add a background melody to the serene scene.
On an arched bridge, two figures, wearing traditional Japanese kimonos and carrying samurai swords, met by chance. One was the notorious swordsman Zura, and the other was Katsura, a head of the Joui Patriots.
The two gazed at each other, evoking the same tension found in an iconic duel from a famous movie in the neighboring country: "On a full moon night, atop the Forbidden City, one sword descends from the heavens..."
No words were exchanged. The two figures passed each other in an instant.
"Is that all you've got?" Zura said calmly.
A moment later, Katsura collapsed, blood gushing from a sudden wound.
This fight cast a shadow of suspense over the ongoing Red Sakura arc.
"This manga is just too good..."
New Eight couldn't help but praise Gintama as he read on.
In fact, he'd initially started reading the series because one of the characters shared a name similar to his own. But after reading it, he was hooked by the humor and couldn't stop.
Recently, the Red Sakura arc had stirred a lot of excitement among his classmates, especially those who also loved Gintama.
The Red Sakura arc was one of the standout arcs in the early part of the series. It told the story of a mysterious swordsman, an evil cursed sword, and an unexpected request for help. Old friends went missing, and former comrades, now enemies, faced off in a deadly confrontation.
Despite not being as action-packed as some traditional shonen series, Gintama had a way of sneaking in meaningful moments between all the jokes and chaos, giving readers an emotional jolt that kept them coming back. After all, "boys never really grow up."
"If this manga ever gets turned into a TV series, it'll be amazing," New Eight thought to himself as he continued reading.
The large house was quiet, with only the occasional sound of a page turning and the distant voice of Felix making phone calls outside.
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